Resident Evil: Dead City
by DementedDebi
Summary: M for Gore/Language  It was just a regular day in Raccoon City, the Arklay Murders nothing more than a distant memory. For those who believed however, it was never far from their mind. Now on this day what began in the Spencer Estate has become City-Wide
1. Beginning of the End

**RESIDENT EVIL: Dead City**

**NOTE! I do not own Resident Evil, any of its characters, creatures, or locations! This story takes place a day before the events of Resident Evil 3 and will likely not feature any of the main characters. HOWEVER I may try to implement some features from the game into the story, keep your eyes peeled for them! For this story I've used characters of my own, enjoy!**

**Chapter 1.**

**September 27****th****, 1998**

'It had been nearly two months, two months since the grisly murders in the Arklay Mountains, a time when the citizens of Raccoon feared annihilation at the hands of unseen forces. It was nothing more than a bunch of deranged sickos hitting for headlines, hungry for 15 minutes of infamy in the once quiet towns history. Deranged and hungry, they most certainly were. The R.P.D S.T.A.R.S unit was sent in to investigate the mountains, to catch these crooks, bring them to justice and soothe the nerves of the townsfolk.

That was on an unusually damp and cold July night, and the following day a press conference was called. From the team of over a dozen men and women only four stood there in front of me; Officers Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Barry Burton and Rebecca Chambers was their names. They spouted stories of unfathomable horrors, undead cannibalistic beings, gruesome mutants...

Their story had me hooked, but naturally the reporter in me doubted every word they said. It was nothing more than a sad hoax in my eyes, but deep down, a knot of fear grew. The worried civilian within me believed them, but how could I support their claims? It was so far-fetched, so bizarre! I would have been laughed out of a job if I supported the S.T.A.R.S claims, but I had been there, at the scene of the first murders. I had seen what had happened to the bodies, the skin bare families lying in pools of blood. I refused to believe what I knew deep down was right, and within weeks the citizens and I of Raccoon City had pushed the horrible chapter of the town's history from our minds. The day we all found ourselves wishing we had listened was in a cold September day.

My name is Gabe Hicks, and this is my story of survival...'

September 27th, Daylight

Gabe squinted at his computer screen, tapping at the keys on the computer trying to make a story on a missing garden gnome seem interesting. For the hundredth time since July Gabe found himself wondering why the hell he was saddled with reject stories that some higher up had passed on or was too lazy to do, it didn't make sense at all. Just months previously he had been reporting the story of the century, murder, bio-weaponry, an Umbrella conspiracy and a disgraced police squad. He looked once more at the headline:

'Gnome Place Like Home'

With a spark of irritation Gabe pushed away from his seat, feeling sick to his stomach. He didn't see a point in writing the story, more than likely what little space it would have taken up would be replaced with an ad and the hours he would spend writing, trying to make the story half entertaining would have been for nothing. Absolutely no recognition would have been allocated to him. Although considering the content of such a story, that would be a blessing. It was a warm day, rather than come to work in his regular suit Gabe had opted for a more casual (but still professional) red shirt, unbuttoned slightly at the top and some regular plain black trousers. Ruffling his coal coloured hair he made his way out of the bustling news office, ever since his S.T.A.R.S article he had lost his zeal for writing. He just couldn't be bothered.

The Raccoon Press Office was by no means large; it had 3 floors with very little office space. Some days it was good to just leave the cramped offices and cubicles of the RCP and to meander out into the streets. The sun was shining high in the sky as Gabe made his way out the foyer and into the cramped downtown streets of Raccoon.

2 hours later, roughly 2:30

Gabe sat outside the Cafe Grapevine, adjacent to the Raccoon Police Department watching the traffic flow by. He had been a little generous with his lunch break, but it didn't matter. Rob Peterson, his boss was a timid man. Very rarely did he man up to Gabe and put him in his place, it was quite sad really. Quite suddenly Gabe began to notice that the slow and steady pace of traffic had increased in speed and in quantity. Car horns sounded off all at once, creating a symphony of sound as fellow diners began to pique up their interest. 'Something's up' Gabe thought, flipping his notebook out of his pocket as he jogged to the nearest car. A man sat pounding at his horn, his face lined with fear. Gabe knocked on the man's car window casually and yelled over the horns "Hey, Gabe Hicks Raccoon Press. What's happened?"

The man looked Gabe up and down before yelling back "A murder, same as the July attacks." Gabe froze to the spot as the man rolled up his window. Looking to the left Gabe saw an endless line of cars, buses and lorries, all of which were heading in the same direction. Within moments a shining black squad truck with the white R.P.D letters painted on the side told Gabe something had gone horribly wrong. The van flew past, narrowly missing the stuck cars. Following behind the speeding van was another R.P.D van, but this time Swat officers poured from the back. They were carrying heavy metal frames, quickly and efficiently erecting a barricade separating one end of the street from the other. Drivers leaned out of their car windows, hurling abuse at the officers, but it didn't matter. They were stuck, and unless they planned on leaving their cars behind they were going nowhere. Horrifying suspicions began bubbling in Gabe's mind, but he had to know. Sprinting towards the barricades Gabe made a running jump and vaulted over, a succession of angry yells from the officers and yelps of amusement from the stranded drivers.

For 20 minutes Gabe ran, until at last the traffic had thinned out, leaving only a circle clear in the middle of the street. Before he had even got close enough to smelling the blood pooled in the street he knew it was happening again. Two figures were hunched over another, its leg twitching and kicking spasmodically as the two hunched figures bent close. Cautiously Gabe took a step forward, sickeningly aware of the gristly, crunch of skin being torn from bone. It was two men by the looks of it, but they were bleeding profusely from the neck. There was a sickly, dirty look about them that Gabe found incredibly unsettling and as he moved closer he called out, "Hey, are you two alright?"

The two slowly stood up, rolling their necks back and suddenly Gabe wished he hadn't bothered. Their eyes were clouded, their skin a dead grey colour and most sickening of all, where they had been bitten he could see exposed muscle and bone. "Jesus Christ..." was all he could muster, what he could see was as clear as day. The S.T.A.R.S team were right, about Umbrella, about the experiments, everything. And now they were shambling towards him, guttural groans rasping forth from their blood smeared lips.


	2. Valentine's Warning

**Chapter 2.**

**September 27****th****, 1998**

September 27th, Daylight, 2:30 roughly

Gabe backed away from the scene, horrified as the undead citizens of Raccoon made their way towards him, their blood smeared maws grinding and spewing forth chunks of muscle and meat. "This can't be...no way is this happening..." was all he could muster. Where had the police gone? Had they passed this scene completely, or gone down a different street? He saw the corpse they were feeding on twitch, then move, and then there were more. Three people that should be dead, but where instead breathing and living, no not living, dying in front of him. Then Gabe remembered the cars, their passengers stuck and no doubt terrified. He saw the face of a woman in the car, her small mousey face pulled back in a fit of fear, spit spewing from her lips as she screamed. "Come on! Move!" Gabe shouted as he pulled at the door, but the woman had locked the door. "Go away!" she screamed, fear and anger rising up in her voice and all at once Gabe knew the woman wouldn't budge. She thought she was safe in the car, but Gabe knew she wasn't. He had no time; he could at least lure the creatures away from her so she'd be safe. He bolted up the street, banging on car windows and yelling at the people, telling them they needed to haul ass and make it ASAP. Many complied, spying the sickly figures in the distance but others shrugged off his warnings, frustration boiling up inside him as he managed to reach the police barricade.

"Hey you" a lone R.P.D officer shouted, "What the hell's wrong with you? The barricade is up for a reason." Gabe was panting, fighting to tell the officer what he had seen, what was happening to the town. At last he managed to pant out "The S.T.A.R.S...They...they were right." Gabe seen the R.P.D officer's lip tighten as he hissed "Don't you think I don't know that, hell I couldn't believe what I was being told when the call was in." The man's eyes widened in horror as he whispered "Oh shit..."

Gabe followed his gaze and his jaw dropped. In between the crowds of people pushing past him he could see bloody and groaning figures, grabbing at anyone nearby and devouring their throats. Gabe's heart sank as he seen the familiar mousey face of the woman who locked herself in her car, her cheek ripped open, her eyes rolling back into her head. Clearly the glass didn't provide much protection against the attacking cannibals, and their numbers were increasing at a startling rate. The virus was extremely contagious according to the S.T.A.R.S, and now they had first hand proof. What began as a trio of undead had now expanded into half a street full, 'If only the R.P.D had stopped the three...if only they had stopped the spread before it was too late...' But it was too late. People were dying in front of him, being eaten alive their screams filling the warm afternoon air. The R.P.D officer had a loudspeaker out now, calmly repeating "This is the Raccoon City Police Department. Riots have begun taking place; please return to your homes immediately. This is the Raccoon City Police Department-" and so he continued. Gabe could hear the tinge of fear in his voice, if the police were scared then clearly what was happening was more than a riot. The officer had said riots though, was the same thing happening in other areas of the city? 'Hell with this' Gabe muttered as he followed the surging crowd into the R.P.D, panic gripping him as he heard the first shots sound off.

Little did he know they wouldn't be the last...

Evening, Roughly 6:00

The R.P.D weren't prepared for the attacks, but considering the suddenness of the situation Gabe was impressed. Officers frequently updated the terrified citizens, saying where further 'riots' had broken out and how the citizens of Raccoon were either evacuating from the main highway tunnel or were heading home, barricading themselves in under police order. Gabe had floated around different groups, notebook in hand listening to their opinions on what was going on. As he suspected they all seen a link in what was happening and what the S.T.A.R.S team had went through in the Arklay Mountains, however there were a few naive citizens who honestly believed that city wide riots were taking place. Gabe envied their ignorance.

The chief of police, Irons had came to the main hall were they had gathered telling them all that there was nothing to worry about and that by the end of the day they would all be able to return home. The sounds of a handgun firing sounded of close the main door, and in strode a young woman. Her light brown hair was cut low into a bob, and she wore nothing more than a light blue boob tube, mini skirt and wrap around her waist. She jammed her gun into her skirt's waistband, and her boots seemed uncomfortably loud as she made her way across the main hall to Chief Irons. "Chief, we need to talk." Her gaze was fierce, despite the light tone in which she addressed Irons. His lipped curled as he eyed her from head to toe and replied curtly "You have two minutes."

Gabe had followed Iron's and the young woman, sneaking past a few officers on the way. He at last reached Iron's office, opting to use the stairwell outside the R.P.D to follow them. He didn't particularly want to charm his way past Iron's secretary. Gabe pressed his ear to the door of Iron's office, catching a few muffled sentences here and there.

"Please Chief-Umbrella's doing"

"Lies Valentine, lies-Preposterous what your-"

"If you don't do something-will die!"

Gabe cursed the thick wooden door for impairing his hearing, and staggered back as he heard the footsteps make their way to the door. He was face to face with the woman, seething at the Chief's refusal to believe, 'Does she think Umbrella are behind this?' As she looked at him, giving a faint smile Gabe practically smacked his head at his own stupidity. How he didn't recognise her he didn't know, but he had just came face to face with Jill Valentine, one of the disgraced S.T.A.R.S members. As she walked off, her hips swaying with her every movement she called back to Gabe "I'm leaving town I suggest you do the same."

Gabe stood motionless in the corridor, listening to Valentine stalk off. If she thought something was up and was leaving town he just had to believe her. But had the main entrance to the highway been cut off already? And what of Umbrella, did they know that this would happen? Gabe stood silent for a very long time before he made his mind up; he was going to leave town, he had to try even if it killed him.

**Okay so maybe I lied about not including game characters, but hey nothing wrong with a cameo right? :P**

**This chapter is dedicated to N, my inspiration. Thanks so much for believing in my ability to write! You're awesome: D. Mama P also gets my thanks too, her style of writing inspires me so much, and let's not forget how awesome she is too. Thank you P! :D**

**Please review ^.^**


	3. Escape from the RPD

**Chapter 3.**

**September 27****th****, 1998**

September 27th, Evening, 9:00

'Things have gotten worse...a lot worse' the young man thought. It had been nearly seven hours since the _riots _began, and judging from what the squads were reporting the spread of cannibalistic violence was now officially city wide. The R.P.D building, as secure as it seemed had been coming under attack. The cannibalistic beings had broken into the briefing room corridor immediately after Jill Valentine, one of the S.T.A.R.S members had left. The young man looked down at his light blue uniform and grimaced as he spied the browning streaks of blood all over his trouser leg and shirt front. During the attack a fellow officer was wounded, the blood streaming from his arm as the police force gunned the snarling pale ghouls, tossing their bodies back out into the street before putting the shutters down on the windows. The citizens had been shaken up when they had heard, doubt in the police force evident in their faces. They watched the injured officer as his breath rattled, the colour draining from his face as he turned a sickly blue colour, as if the air was seeping from his lungs.

'He shouldn't be like this, it was just a bite...'

_**CRASH!**_

Every head in the room turned slowly towards the main door as the sound of many decomposing diseased hands beat at the sturdy wood. Time seemed to slow as with each passing second more and more pulpish fists seemed to join in, the dead citizens of Raccoon baying at the doors of the R.P.D like it was a buffet. 'But it is a buffet' the man thought sombrely, looking from one frightened face to the other, a particularly large man catching the officers attention. The fists seemed to hammer _**CRASH! **_and bang _**CRASH! **_with each _**CRAAAASH!**_ beat of his _**CRAAAS-BANNNG! **_heart...

The door burst open, dozens of the pale undead pouring into the main hall, their jaws rolling and grinding as they made their way to the closest morsel. The officer stood, watching as the civilians were herded in every direction by the police force, some unfortunate people grabbed by ghoulish hands and pulled into a sea of snarling teeth and blood stained faces. Crowds of people made their way to the fire ladder, the officer envying their clear thinking. Others hopped over the banister of the steps heading into the main offices whilst others simply pushed past the decaying creatures, taking their chances in the streets. The officer turned heel and bolted in the direction of the emergency plan room, where the officers and himself had put the shutters down to avoid any more attacks.

He could hear the undead battering at the door, heard the scream of a woman shrill and filled with horrifying pain. The officer ran on, acutely aware that the corridor before the briefing room had become much darker. The lights were out. His instincts screamed out at him to stop; something wasn't right. The young man slid along the wall, his breathing loud in the eerie silence. A door opened, his head darted to the left. It wasn't the one he came from, it was the door ahead...

"Hello" a voice called out, and all at once the young officers worry subsided. He broke into a jog, rounding the corner and giving off a faint smile as he seen a trio of fellow officers in the doorway ahead. They too shared a look of relief seeing him, however the young man's heart jumped to his throat as he seen the look of pure terror form on their faces. A low rasping hiss sounded as he looked up, the creature moving slow enough so that he could see its crimson muscled torso claw its way towards him, it's gleaming white claws as sharp as knives. Suddenly its tongue was out, lashing through the air as slobber dripped from its carnivorous maw, the long eel like appendage snaking its way towards him. With a cobra strike the tongue coiled around the young officer's neck, the look of horror the last thing he saw as the creature twisted and jerked, rending the man's head from his shoulders with a blood lust roar.

September 27th, 9:05, Main offices of the R.P.D

"God damn them, they got in!" was all Gabe could muster as himself and about a dozen others poured into the main offices of the R.P.D. The room was filled with desks and chairs, frightened civilians crowding around the closest officer. In the distance Gabe could hear gun fire, the remainder of the police force cleaning out the main hall of the undead? Regardless, it was clear that the R.P.D wasn't safe. He had to get out and find his own way out of the city, before it was too late.

'Head to the train station, get off at Arklay Street, escape through the Arklay Overpass...'

It was a simple enough plan Gabe thought, in his head it was easy. He could be out of town within two hours; long before whatever was happening to the city could spread. The Government would send in the military, clean up this mess and the majority of the citizens in Raccoon would be saved. The stairwell, Gabe had to get to the stairwell. It was surrounded by a metal fence, big enough so that the cannibals couldn't get in, but not so big as that a regular person could climb over. Gabe moved away slowly as to avoid attracting the attention of anyone; the last thing he needed was a cop telling him to stay put. He eased open the door leading out to the stairwell, and briskly made his way to the exit. The cool night air caressed his cheek as he stepped out, closing the door behind him quietly. Over and over again Gabe had to tell himself what he was doing was right. He had just witnessed firsthand that the police weren't trained for this kind of situation, what could they do?

Gabe pulled himself over the cool metal fence and dropped to the floor with a smack. He closed his eyes and went through a mind map of the City, to his right lead back to the R.P.D main entrance and back alleys to uptown; to his left was Warren Street which would take him directly to the subway, 'but out into the main streets...' Gabe didn't know the exact situation of what was going on outside the R.P.D building, how many people had been infected? Where the main streets deserted? 'Can pigs fly?' he thought bitterly. A soft groan sounded to his right, a lonely shuffling corpse making its way out of the R.P.D gardens. His mind was made up. Breaking into a run Gabe ran into Warren Street, his head darting left from right, keen to spy any undead before they came into grabbing distance. He slipped down side alleys, aware that all of the shops were closed. He knew that the police had instructed them to, but he still couldn't help but feel uneasy about it. At last he reached the entrance to the nearest subway, but even before he reached it his heart sank. "What the hell?" was all he could muster. Cars, buses, everything had piled up across the street. Fires burned sparingly every few vehicles, and to Gabe's dismay the subway entrance was blocked. In the distance, over the accidental blockade of cars he could hear screaming, groaning, the sound of sirens; the sounds of life and those who wanted to extinguish it.

What could he do now? It was too dangerous to climb the barricade, too dangerous at the R.P.D, and the next subway entrance was quite a bit off. If he wanted to get there in one piece he'd need a weapon...

An abandoned R.P.D cruiser caught his attention, its door lying wide open, the radio inside crackling with a panicked voice every few minutes. 'Please have something useful, please...' Gabe willed as he crept to the car. At first glance nothing appeared to be there causing Gabe to curse under his breath. However as he searched through the glove compartments Gabe felt a surge of relief. Not only was there a handgun, a Browning HP but there was also a holster to carry it around in. He placed his hand over the blessing, feeling a shocking sense of calm being near something so destructive. Gabe half sat in the cruiser, adjusting and fixing the brown leather holster about his frame. At last he slowly took the gun, taken aback by the weight of it. He sat for a few moments, learning the basics of the thing, popping the clip inside out (counting the bullets) and then slapping it back into place again. With a new found sense of security in the dead city, Gabe set off, not deterred by the shambling figures in the distance.


	4. Fight to Survive

**Chapter 4.**

**September 27****th****, 1998**

September 27th, Late, Warren Street

Gabe was hurrying along, eyes focused on the shuffling shapes emerging from the shadows, certain he wanted to escape Raccoon City. Things were bad; worse than he thought possible. Naively he wanted to believe the _cannibal disease_ would be localised in one part of the city and exterminated by the R.P.D long before any long term damage could be done to the town; now looking up to the sky, seeing the plumes of smoke writhe around the old American feel of the buildings around him Gabe could have punched himself for believing that would be the case. To his left a lonely groan sounded, Gabe spinning to meet the gaze of a milk eyed citizen. He brought his Browning up, levelling it at the creature's knee. He froze, well aware that the thing he had his gun drawn on was a human being. A wet slap and the creatures foot brought it forward one more step, its jaws grinding and chomping on chipped teeth. It took all the will Gabe had to pull the trigger, or at least attempt to. It wouldn't fire!

'Damn, these things have safety?'

He didn't know the ins-and-outs of firearms, but he was certain there was some sort of safety lock in place. Taking a few hurried steps back Gabe's eyes darted around the gun until he at last found the safety switch. He flipped it and once again aimed down at the things knee. It groaned as it inched forward once again, its oozing leg inching it closer to its meal. Gabe took a deep breath shut his eyes and pulled the trigger.

BLAM!

Gabe's arm kicked back, a gasp of surprise escaping his lips as the handgun roared in his ear, the sound of wet meat slumping to the floor. He opened his eyes and seen blood ooze out of the cannibals knee, shards of its knee cap littered across the pavement. Gabe heaved as the thing tried getting up, seemingly unfazed by the lack of leg, only to fall back down the bones splintering through the skin. The smell was unimaginable. Yet all at once a wave of pity surged through Gabe, this thing was a person. They probably had a family, maybe even still alive. They had a life. Yet now they were doomed to roam the streets, looking for the next meal, waiting to be gunned down by the police or 'a survivor...'

For what seemed like a long while Gabe just stood there, watching as the thing clawed its way in a circle, trying to reach him in anguish. "I'm sorry" was all Gabe whispered as he drew the gun up once more aiming for the creatures head. Once again he closed his eyes and pulled the trigger, this time not flinching as the gun kicked back. The ghoul stopped writhing; only letting out a quiet sigh as it died; for real this time. Gabe stood for a while, sick to his stomach at the thought he had just killed someone. He knew he had to survive; killing these things was the only way. He shuddered remembering how it didn't die, or yell out in pain as he blew up its kneecap. 'It's like something from a horror movie, like a zombie or something...'

The word clicked with him instantly. He had just killed a zombie, yet he was in reality. He wasn't having a nightmare. This was real; the corpse in front of him was real. Deep down he felt shame at his dismissal of the S.T.A.R.S unit, and he had a vague idea of who was behind this. 'Umbrella' he mused. It seemed highly likely it was them if what the S.T.A.R.S said was true, but maybe they were mistaken? Perhaps someone else had leaked the _T-Virus_ in that Umbrella Mansion? Silently Gabe chastised himself for being so laxidasical; Umbrella had to be behind this. But he had no proof, and likely never would.

Gabe had been walking for at least half an hour, he had no idea what time it was, regardless it was getting late. He could feel it. The street he was walking down was fairly narrow, devoid of any cars. At the end of it was another blockade, he could climb over it easily. As he reached it his stomach lurched, in the next street there were at least 30 zombies and even more unsettling he could see survivors running in amidst the crowd of undead. The people were running everywhere, down small alleyways, into buildings; Gabe even seen someone head down into the subway. How could he get there though? The direct route was too risky, and he didn't have enough ammunition to take most of them out.

The whirr of choppers roared above him, alerting the undeads attention to Gabe's direction. It was heading towards Warren Street Gabe presumed. A red and white parasol shape was stencilled onto the side of each of the choppers, "Umbrella?" It had to be more than a happy coincidence Umbrella choppers were sent to the city, 'and since when did Umbrella go military?' He didn't have time to think, he seen the undead make their way to him, albeit slowly. He scanned around and quickly seen a small alleyway he could duck into, with any luck it would have lead to the subway. He broke into a jog, clutching his Browning as he scanned the dark corners of the alley. Graffiti was smeared along the walls, covered with blood much to Gabe's disgust. Rounding a corner Gabe quickly scanned the area; in front of him was a stairwell that lead upwards as well as a bin. The corpse of a teenage girl lay up against it, her denim shorts ripped and bloody, her red vest top sticking to the gore on her chest. Her legs were splayed open leaving little to the imagination. Gabe had to work to stifle his vomit, a feeling of intense guilt and unease building up inside him as he averted his gaze and made his way up the green stairwell.

It was attached to an apartment building Gabe summed up as he passed bedrooms and hallways. A small smile broke across Gabe's face as he seen in the distance about 10 meters away the entrance to the subway was visible. Gabe looked over the edge of the railings, assessing where he had to run and how much he needed to avoid. At last he was satisfied and began to descend the ladder when he spotted denim shorts, ripped to shreds in front of him. The girl lunged at Gabe, sending himself and the girl tumbling down with a scream. Gabe turned over to his stomach in mid-air, landing hard on the pavement below. He hissed in pain as he felt a sharp sting build in his hands, and worked to stifle his vomit as the zombie girl slammed head first into the pavement, a bit of her skull skidding across his way.

Gabe began to sprint as the zombies began surrounding him. He dodged left and right, brushing past cold moist hands as he ran to the subway entrance. He took their steps two at a time, unsure of whether the enveloping darkness would be sanctuary, or another bloodbath...

**As requested here's Chapter 4, sorry if it seems a bit rushed. Had ideas for this chapter and needed (and I mean NEEDED) to get them down. I hope you enjoy anyway, I've really tried to build up suspense in this chapter. I'm also sorry for the amount of gore in this scene, hopefully you're not repulsed completely ;D**

**Thanks to all who've reviewed so far!**

**-DD-**


	5. The Subway

**Chapter 5.**

**September 27****th****, 1998**

September 27th, Late, Raccoon Subway

It was dark in the subway, so dark that Gabe had to rapidly adjust his eyes to the gloom just so he could move with relative ease. Pulling out the Browning he inched forward, tapping his feet every couple of inches. If there was something on the ground he most certainly did not want to trip over it; the last thing he needed was to be struggling with a corpse in the dark. The sound of his work shoes slapping the cold concrete made him uneasy, the zombies were attracted by sound (as any predator was) and he didn't even want to think how many could be in the bowels of the subway. He couldn't allow himself too. In the distance, a light flickered. "Thank you God" he muttered under his breath as he upped his speed. He wanted out of the dark as soon as possible; as well as to meet up with the survivor. 'They couldn't have gotten far' he told himself, and no sooner had that thought crossed his mind he heard a shrill scream sound in the distance. He was running, gun aimed straight ahead as he entered the ticket booth area.

Directly ahead of him, past the ticket barriers was a young woman backing away from a duo of undead; the ghoulish figures hungrily pushing themselves towards her. "Help me!" she screamed, and at once Gabe vaulted over the ticket barriers and was rushing to the woman's aid. He grunted as he rammed in between the two creatures, the sickly sweet smell of rot flaring up his nostrils. He stopped face to face with the woman, her eyes bulging with fear. He spun on his heel and switched his aim between the pair in front of him, once again feeling like he couldn't pull the trigger. The lunging ghoul closest to him forced his decision.

**BANG!**

The Browning rang out as the bullet tore through the creature's forehead, sending it down silently. "Jesus-Jesus-Jesus" was all Gabe could manage as he turned his gun on the second zombie. 'This isn't right, I shouldn't be doing this' and a dozen other thoughts on the wrongness of the situation ran through Gabe's head as he shot once more, this time hitting the zombie's shoulder. He heard the bone crack, yet it kept coming; the only thing slowing the cannibal down being its awkward gait. Its shoulder rolled with each step, a sickening crunch sounding each time its arm moved. Gabe heard the young woman heave behind him, the sound of her emptying stomach cut off by another round directly in the things temple.

It took all Gabe had to stop shaking, guilt burning in his mind. He knew what they were, knew they weren't alive (strictly) yet he found his mind calling him a murderer. Deep down, he technically knew it was true. Why else would he try to rationalise away the killing of three people? 'But they're not people, they're zombies. They're not people, they're zombies...' After a while Gabe calmed down and turned to the woman who had just finished wiping her mouth.

Anya had thought she was a goner. Arriving in town with some college friends to see a football game at Raccoon Stadium, the day seemed to be a perfect get away from their studies. Hours later, as they were driving out of town the attacks began, leaving Anya the sole survivor on the bus. She could still hear them, her friends screaming in agony, her boyfriend yelling for her to get away. Anya had; but the effect it had on her mind set was less than positive. She'd headed to the subway, fleeing with the born and bred citizens of Raccoon City, hoping it would be a safe haven from the cannibals. It wasn't. 'But...the man.' She at last looked at him, an average height and build, black hair and a bloodied up work suit. Who was he?

"Thanks..." she began, certain she shouldn't be thanking a stranger for killing the two in front of her. "I'm Anya. Anya Davis." The man gave her a feeble smile as he introduced himself as "Gabe Hicks, Raccoon Press." The two stood in silence, not sure what to say. What could be said, 'Hey, how's it going? What you think of that ball game wasn't it great when a bunch of cannibals ate the team alive?' Anya shook her head, Gabe shifting on his feet uneasily. At last he broke the silence, "Listen, I know this isn't an average everyday situation, and if a stranger ever propositioned you like this you'd head for the hills but-" he paused as if looking for the right phrase to use. He continued "What say you and me haul ass outta town kiddo, I'm sure you're capable of taking care of yourself but I wouldn't feel right just parting ways here, you get me?" Anya simply nodded and asked "What do you have in mind then, the streets are crawling with those things?"

What Gabe had planned seemed fairly easy; they had to travel to Arklay Street, just outside the Arklay Overpass and make their way out of town through the motorway. Anya tagged back, letting Gabe lead the way. She was certain he knew his way around Raccoon City; her luck had seemingly improved.

Gabe crept down the stairs with Anya in tow. Thankfully, the subway still had power meaning the two wouldn't be creeping along in the dark. Gabe scanned the platform; his Browning trained on anything that would appear. Nothing did. "It's so quiet" Anya whispered as they proceeded further down the platform. A cold chill sent a shiver up Gabe's spine just as he spotted a train; unmoving and very much abandoned. He could see there was no driver, and with that he could have threw himself in front of a moving train upon realising. "Shit! The train's are out!" Why he thought business would go on as usual in the subway was beyond him, clearly he had to think up a new plan. "I think we may have to go back up, take our chances in the streets." He saw Anya's eyes widen in fear as she shook her head. 'What can we do?' he thought as he stared absently at the abandoned train. Just then, a movement; as subtle as a mouse. There was something inside the train. "Anya, wait here" Gabe commanded. His heart was pumping as he crouched, making his way slowly to the train. Gabe popped his head up, scanning the train. Nothing. He let out a sigh, just as a sinewy limb punched its way through the glass. Anya let out a scream; Gabe gasped as he seen what had been the source of the movement. He backed away and fired one shot, two at the thing on the other side of the glass.

**BANG! BANG!**

It retracted its arm as the bullets skimmed past its raw limb, clearly afraid of the damage the gun could do. With one deft movement the creature let itself swing from the ceiling of the train to the window in front of Gabe. As Gabe looked at the creature, disbelief growing he remembered how the S.T.A.R.S had encountered what they called _B.O.W.s_, creatures bred for biological warfare. What Gabe was looking at now was most definitely a B.O.W, be it accidental or purposely created. At first glance the creature appeared to be a man (minus the anatomy to deem it so) however on closer inspection Gabe found it to be much more. Its eyes were slanted and piercing, like that of a rat. Its lean sinewy body was like that of a frail man, however the abdomen sprouted from its backside destroyed that illusion. Most horrifying of all was the creature's dead smile, razor sharp teeth as big as kitchen knives all dying to meet Gabe; and his neck.

They had no choice, they had to jump onto the lines and sprint to the Arklay Street platform. If not, Gabe shuddered to think what the thing in front of him would do. "Anya go!" Gabe shouted as he dropped down into the lines, Anya already well ahead of him. The two sprinted on, only the dim light of the service boxes lighting their way. "What in God's name was that thing!" Anya chocked, forcing air into her lungs. Gabe honestly didn't know. He turned back to look, and seen that the thing had moved into the drivers compartment of the train. It was staring after them, its eyes following them unblinking and greedily, its monstrous fangs grinding off each other hungrily. For the first time since the zombie attack Gabe felt there was a lot worse than the undead citizens of Raccoon. With a shudder going through him Gabe ran on with Anya, feeling the burning gaze of the subway creature bore into him. Marking him.

September 27th, Late, Arklay Street Platform

By the time Gabe and Anya reached the Arklay Street Platform they were exhausted; both physically and emotionally. They were both terrified by what they had just seen; they were jumping at shadows not knowing if it was there mind playing tricks or something far worse. A screech echoed out in front of them. Could it be another creature? "Sounds like a train" Gabe mused out loud, and suddenly they were jolted to action. They needed to get off the tracks and fast. Gabe had pushed Anya up the platform ledge, spying in the distance the headlights of the train. It was hurtling towards him now; Gabe struggling to pull himself up. Anya was screaming in his ear as she tried to pull him up. Gabe could sense how close the train was, and with one last burst of strength he pulled himself up and over, feeling the gust of air as the train zoomed past, crashing into the wall of the tunnel they just came from. Debris and flames spouted forth from the train engine, bodies thrown from the train, their bodies mangled and covered in glass.

A body twitched. Then another. Soon almost two dozen bodies were springing forth into life, their hungry, sunken eyes looking towards Gabe and Anya. Anya let out an anguish filled groan as both Gabe and she sprinted up the stairs, taking them two at a time. As they reached the ticket booth area they found the room littered with the roaming undead. "What are we going to do now?" Anya whimpered, losing hope rapidly by the second. Gabe scanned the room looking for an opening; there was none. However there were two zombies blocking the way out, if they avoided the rest and took out those two they could escape into Arklay Street. "Okay on my mark you follow me. Ready?" Anya simply nodded, fear bulging from her eyes. Gabe ran first, Anya following. They circled zombies and dodged cold, dead hands. At last they reached the turn stile, Gabe aimed quick as a flash hitting one of the zombies in the temple, the other in their knee. Gabe grabbed Anya's hand as the two bounded up the stairs once more, out of the darkness of the subway and into the flaming ruins of Raccoon City.


	6. Safety and Despair

**Chapter 6.**

**September 27****th****, 1998**

September 27th, Late, Arklay Street

By now Gabe knew that the entire city had been what could only be described as infected by the cannibal disease. Looking around the street, cars burning, zombies feasting on the corpses of the fallen, by the second Raccoon City were becoming more and more like a bad horror movie. Thankfully the infected were spread out in the street; shuffling mindlessly in circles. Gabe didn't want to waste any ammunition so he turned to Anya and whispered "We're going to run around them again, okay?" She simply nodded. They had to work fast, Gabe knew that the main streets were dangerous and he certainly didn't like the idea that the B.O.W from the subway may be pursuing them. He looked up seeing the huge overhead bridge; how could they get to it? The answer presented itself to Gabe as he spied a metal ladder leading upwards, a service ladder perhaps? There was what appeared to be a small mobile office half way up. Regardless that was their goal.

They set off at a jog, thankful that the zombies had kept their distance; they seemingly didn't notice the pair running towards the pillar of the Arklay Bridge. They reached the gated area sealing off the support pillars; not deterred by the obstacle. With one deft movement Anya was up and over the fence, Gabe following her swiftly after. They began their ascent one rung at a time. By the time they reached the half way point their arms were begging for release, Gabe and Anya obliging their arms the much needed break they needed. The mobile office, they found was bolted onto the pillar offering sturdy support. Inside was dark; but they had no doubt it was safe inside. What could be hiding in there? What could have climbed up to there? Gabe was confident nothing had and likely never would. He entered first, his work shoes scuffing off the linoleum floor as he groped the walls looking for a light switch. His blind fumble proved to be successful as he flicked a switch casting a bright and welcoming light in the room. Anya walked in briskly closing the door after herself; she found a small chair and sat back her eyes closed. "What a night" she whispered. Gabe agreed with her silently, hours earlier he had been enjoying a nice lunch wishing for an exciting story, and now that he had one...

He laughed bitterly as he started looking around the office hoping to find anything of use, 'A weapon for Anya if we're lucky.' His initial search turned up nothing; however a second more thorough search proved to be more successful. He found a thermos of warm coffee in which he chugged almost half before he handed it to Anya. She took it giving him a small smile; he didn't expect the two to instantly be friendly, but he was glad she was thawing to him. A thank you smile was more than he had expected from her almost half an hour ago. Gabe began searching through the lockers, groaning in despair as all he managed to turn out was reams of paper. Something sparkled in the light catching his eye; a key. He lifted it inspecting it for any clue on where it could be used; all he could see was small print declaring the key to be:

_**Rooftop building access, MK**_

Gabe shrugged sliding it into his pocket. He had no clue what it meant but he didn't worry. Soon Anya and himself would be out of Raccoon, before things got a lot worse. There was a clock overhead telling him it was 11:20PM, he wanted out of town before midnight. As he rummaged through the second locker his heart skipped. In a cardboard box he spied something black and most definitely useful. He pulled out a stun-gun, the click of the sparks making Anya jump as he tested it. "A gift for you" he said with a smile. Much to their luck the box contained two spare batteries for the stun-gun; clearly whoever was working here wanted to be safe than sorry. Anya's clothes weren't too practical; she had to make do with improved hiding areas for her new found equipment. She used the cord on the stun-gun to tie it loosely to the hoops on her jeans and because her jacket had no pockets she had to slip the two tiny batteries into her knee highs. Gabe could tell by her stance she felt a lot safer and at last the pair set up the remainder of the ladder giddy at the thought they'd soon be leaving Raccoon City.

September 27th, 11:30, Arklay Overpass

Gabe pulled himself over the top of the bridge, pulling Anya up the remainder of the way. "I'm not helpless you know" she sniped at his ego, a smirk spreading across her face. Despite it all Gabe found a chuckle escape, she reminded him of his sister; the same quick wit and lilting tone berating him into submission. He backed off and the two walked off, gloom setting in as they passed abandoned cars. By the time they reached the entrance to the motorway all hopes of escaping the town disappeared. It was blocked off. Had it been the army? Whoever it was didn't want anyone escaping, Gabe fought back to keep the tears springing from his eyes. Anya wasn't that strong. He let her run off behind a car, uncomfortable and worried as he heard her weeping. 'What the hell do we do now?' Gabe honestly didn't know. They could try escape town some other way, but where could they go? It was a hard decision; one he couldn't make alone. For now it was best to get under shelter and plot what to do next when they were safe. Gabe walked gently to the car Anya was huddled behind, squirming as she whipped the tears from her eyes. "We'd better get somewhere safe..." was all Gabe could say. Giving her a comforting arm the two began their journey back into town.

They walked down the Overpass, doubting their chances of survival as the dark consumed them.


	7. A New Plan

**Chapter 7.**

**September 27****th****, 1998**

September 27th, 11:40, Arklay Overpass

Anya cursed their luck as herself and Gabe left behind the sealed off entrance to their escape. She was so certain that they'd simply walk out of town; Gabe had led her to believe so. Now that they were setting off into the darkness _back into _town she felt a seed of resentment germinate, poisonous thoughts crossing her mind as she leered at the back of Gabe's head. At last Gabe broke the silence stating the obvious, "The overpass is too long to walk, and it leads right back into the centre of town." Anya didn't need to ask, clearly that would be the worst affected area of the Raccoon City. At once Gabe stopped, looking over the wall...

Gabe had just remembered the key he had slipped into his pocket when he seen a jumps width away a rooftop. 'What had that key said again?' he pondered as he pulled it from his pocket:

_**Rooftop building access, MK**_

The chances were slim, but it was worth a shot. Giving it a try was a damn lot better than heading into the epicentre of the disaster. He climbed onto the overpass wall, Anya's tone sharp and agitated as she asked "What the hell are you doing now?" Gabe hopped to the roof cursing as he landed; he hurt his ankle pretty bad and now he had no way of getting back up if the key didn't work. "Idiot!" he muttered under his breath. He turned to Anya expectantly, but only saw her stare coldly down at him. "You coming?" he asked casually, knowing what answer he would get. "You listen to me Gabe, I'm not going to be led here and there like a lemming. I'll come if that door opens, if not..." Gabe didn't have to ask. He turned to the door, not blaming Anya for her hostility. She was caught up in a hopeless situation; she needed someone to blame for what was going wrong. He inserted the key and gave a twist, a cold sweat breaking out as he realised it wasn't opening. He heard Anya sigh and begin to walk off just as he inserted the key the right way. It came undone with a click. He looked up to Anya, a small grin spreading.

September 28th, 2:00, Raccoon Press Office

The journey from the Arklay Overpass to the Raccoon Press Office had been an eventful one. Making their way through the apartment building they narrowly avoided death on a dozen or so occasions. Making it out to Arklay Street again Gabe decided the best place to go to sort out a plan was at the Raccoon Press Office. Worry spread as he spied the amount of traffic and homemade barricades had been erected; a fire engine blocking off the side entrance to the Raccoon Press Office. Passing the R.P.D area the pair had spotted a little blonde girl in a blue and white private school uniform; they tried to find her but their efforts were in vain. Wherever she had gone they couldn't help her, they seen a loose grate no doubt where the girl had escaped into the building. With great difficulty the pair decided to leave the girl in the R.P.D's hands; Anya being quite reluctant, Gabe depressed at the prospect of leaving a child running around the city. Anya had spied a weapon in the nearby shop _**Hunting and More**_ entering the street with a Bowgun, a quiver of many arrows and two fanny packs for the pair. Regardless of whether the girl was from town or not she was resourceful, Gabe would most certainly have never noticed the contents of the shop.

It was cold. He shuddered as he heard the rising wails of the zombies in the distance; he had noted that the sound of semi-automatics and heavy weaponry could be heard on and off in the distance too. Soldiers from the Umbrella chopper he had seen earlier? The R.P.D? Maybe even survivors like himself and Anya, fighting to find a way out. When they at last entered it was noticeably very quiet. Nobody was there. Gabe aimed the Browning ahead of him, Anya raising her Bowgun as the two crept up the stairs. He listened to the door of the first floor office, hearing nothing. He opened the door quietly noting the over turned tables and gore smeared on the wall; yet there were no bodies. "Must have left for food" he mused out loud.

The pair sat down as Gabe took a deep breath and thought. Where could they go? If the main entrance out of town was blocked he had no doubt that all other potential exits from town would be too. The thought of hiking through the Arklay Mountains passed his mind but he scrapped that idea entirely remembering the tales of cannibalistic dogs. Anya was saying nothing, staring out the window absently. Gabe turned his head, a folder catching his eye on the desk. Judging by the date it must have just come in. He flicked it open; hope building up in him once more. It was an anonymous tip he had presumed detailing briefly how Umbrella's '_abandoned_' factories were far from being so. There were three in total, one on the outskirts of town near the sewage plant; the other just outside Raccoon City Park and the other was far uptown; a facility experiencing some building work. Gabe flicked through his mind map immediately dismissing the facility near Raccoon City Park; all roads to that area of town were blocked off or completely flooded by zombies. The tram there was a no-go; he had found that the gate to City Hall (and to the Tram Station) was locked. The facility near the sewage plant was much too far for them to walk, and he knew no back streets to get to the place. He finally decided on the '_under construction_' facility, keen to break the news to Anya.

'Whose desk is this?' he thought, wondering who he should be thanking. A quick scan of some of the articles written indicated to him it was that of Alyssa, 'Well I'll be damned.' It seemed like once again he had a friend to thank. Alyssa was a fighter; he knew she was fighting her way out of town too. "Good luck" he whispered, a bittersweet feeling building in him. Yes she was more than likely fighting her way out of town, but would he see her again? She was a fantastic reporter, and a good friend. Once more he wished her luck, hoping he would see the scrappy blonde once again.

"Hey Anya, I think we've got a way out of town!" Gabe cried out ecstatically. She could barely contain the doubt in her eyes. He handed Anya the folder and saw how her eyes widened as she read. "Umbrella, have they got something to do with what's happening?" Gabe didn't answer; he didn't even have a definite answer. "We'll head to the facility uptown and hopefully find a way out of this hell hole." He paused remarking on how he had gone so quickly to referring to his home as a hell hole. "I really think a map would help us get there a lot quicker, I'll just go to my computer upstairs and find some sort of map." Anya leapt up yelling out "Maybe you could contact someone on the outside too?" Her eyes danced with excitement. Gabe opened the office door, feeling like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders when his heart nearly exploded in shock. Slamming the door he backed away from the door, ejecting his handgun clip and counting the bullets. He'd used 7 bullets from a 15 round magazine, he didn't have enough.

The subway creature outside the office wouldn't go down so easily...


	8. Fight with the Subway Creature

**Chapter 8.**

**September 28****th****, 1998**

September 28th, 2:00, Raccoon Press Office

"What is it?" Anya asked, worry building in her voice. Gabe slammed the handgun magazine back into place aiming at the door, "That thing-from the Subway. It followed us!" Gabe registered the terror in her face as she raised her trembling arms, Bowgun ready to fire. The pair listened, straining to hear the Subway Beast over their own beating hearts. A soft _thwump _sound let them know the thing was climbing the stairs one sinewy leg at a time, the screech of claw on wall letting them know it was here on business. For a few seconds all was silent. They listened more. Still nothing.

**CRASH!**

The abomination hurled itself at the door sending Gabe stumbling back, knocking a nearby bottle down. There wasn't enough time to catch it or check what it was; they had more important things to deal with at the minute. Gabe steeled himself, ready to face the creature; telling himself that he and Anya would make it through the ordeal. An inhuman roar sounded outside the door, and suddenly Gabe's strength fled. He could hear Anya praying beside him, muttering Hail Mary's. Gabe wasn't overly religious, but now was as good a time as any to find some faith. He too began chanting along with Anya until the door in front of them swung open, the creature scuttling in. They both stopped, shocked at what was before them. It had changed since the subway. Indeed it still possessed the rat like features and spider's abdomen that the two feared, but now it had grown bigger; expanded to an unnatural muscular state. Gabe was unsure but he believed that the thing had gotten taller too. Immediately Gabe began firing counting the bullets down as he peppered the beast with bullets.

'Seven-six-five' Anya fired her Bowgun, the arrow whistling through the air as it met its target. She looked pale seeing the arrow protruding from the beast's neck. Anya pulled another arrow from her quiver, setting it in as secure as she could with uneasy hands. Gabe continued firing until his Browning went dry, the silent click of his empty gun frightening in the situation. Anya continued firing her Bowgun, but the rate of fire was too slow. The creature kept coming; seemingly unfazed by the attack. Gabe backed away, desperately looking for a way out or for anything to use. The broken bottle caught his attention, "_Jack Daniels_?" Directly next to him was an electric fuse box; a dangerous but daring plan hatching in his mind...

* * *

Anya could see Gabe grunting and tugging away at something in the corner, but she dared not turn to see what he was doing. The Subway Monster was drawing closer, one step at a time. She had seen how fast it was in the subway car, yet the way it moved now was easily outrun able (in the open anyway.) Why was it not charging them, teeth snapping? 'Maybe the change slowed it down somehow?' It was either that or the thing was toying with them. Anya aimed up, shaking all over; the arrow soaring over the assailants head. "Shit!" she screamed as the creature got much to close for comfort, it lunged head first at her; time slowing as she seen its deadly maw opening in front of her, the razor sharp fangs ready to rip her to shreds. She closed her eyes and rolled to the side, landing clumsily at Gabe's side. She looked up to him, standing with a cable in hand. What was he doing?

* * *

Gabe was going to start a fire, hopefully burning the hateful creature to death. He threw the cable in the puddle of alcohol, the creature stepping one gnarled foot into it. Gabe threw the switch and watched as the electric charge surged through the puddle, setting itself and the creature's foot aflame. It let out an ungodly scream as it flailed its leg about the office, setting fire to the furniture within. It jumped into the stairwell landing galloping down the stairs (and setting some of the steps on fire) as it rushed out of the building. "Thank God" Anya sighed, but they had no time to be thankful. They were stuck in a room slowly burning and had no way out. Gabe flipped his gun around and used the butt of his firearm to break a window open. He climbed out of the office and onto a fire escape holding out his hand for Anya as she climbed through as well. In the distance, near the fire truck he spied the Subway Creature, trying to climb over the truck with one mangled foot on fire. It threw its head back 180 degrees and threw the pair a look of pure hunger and hate. Eventually with much effort it was on top of the fire engine, and threw its head back letting out a pain filled roar as it ran off into the darkness.

Gabe jumped off the fire escape, landing clumsily as he touched the pavement below. Anya followed, hurting her knee as she landed. Before Gabe could ask she hurriedly stated "I'm fine, just an abrasion." He nodded as the two looked off into the distance, the street lamps lighting the way dimly.

'It's gonna be a long night'


	9. The Umbrella Soldier

**Chapter 9.**

**September 28****th****, 1998**

September 28th, 2:30, Outside the Raccoon Press Office

The street just outside the press office was incredibly cold, the blazing flames of the burning office suddenly seeming a whole lot better as Gabe and Anya walked down the street at a brisk pace, the sound of their shoes echoing out in the silent street. The pair hadn't spoke since the encounter with the Subway Beast, they were simply too in shock to make idle chit chat. At last Anya cut through the silence asking, "You're from town right, so...what's going on around here?" It was a simple question; one Gabe could only attempt to answer. "I think that what's happening here is a viral outbreak, spread by Umbrella-I think." For a few seconds all that could be heard was the buzz of the streetlights as they passed under them, until Anya interrupted the silence asking "How do you know Umbrella are behind it?" The tone in her voice suggested that she was resigned to believe they were behind it, regardless of what he said, so Gabe presented his theory to her. 

"During the summer there was these murders, the press called them the Arklay Mountains incident. The local police forces, S.T.A.R.S were sent in to find out who was doing it; they found an old mansion and I tell ya what they said they seen..." Gabe paused and finished with "Apparently the mansion they were in was owned by Umbrella, it had a lab under the house and they discovered the attacks were a result of a bio weapon created by something called T-Virus." Gabe heard Anya gasp; no doubt what he said was a shock to her. After all, she wasn't from town and was only a college student; what he said sounded like the plot to some B-Movie. "And we're still going to this Umbrella facility to escape? How many monsters do you think will be in one of those places!" Anya asked, raising her voice. Gabe didn't know, he hoped that if there was anything there that it would have gone by now, out into the streets looking for food. "We need to find some more weapons" Gabe said, painting a thin smile on his face. Anya simply growled as he dodged her question and replied a little too nastily "Suppose you have used up all your handgun ammo, lead the way."

Gabe ran through his mind map trying to find the nearest shop, anywhere that could yield some sort of weaponry. If they were going to survive the night they'd need as much fire power and other supplies; there would be only so many times that they could avoid the undead, and if the Subway Beast were to come back for them... He shook that thought away remembering how many bullets it took, seemingly unfazed by it all. Returning to his mind map Gabe had remembered that they were roughly 3 streets away from the Raccoon Mall, it was likely closed; besides there weren't any gun shops or the like in it, what he was interested in getting to was Hennessey's Guns somewhere down the back alleys. They set off, eyeing the flames in the distance. It was amazing how little time it had taken for the city to become a playground of destruction; within a day cars had blocked off main streets, buildings flickering with tongues of flame. What was most disturbing to Gabe was how easy it had gotten to stop seeing the zombies as humans, how easy it was to kill them now. He didn't know about Anya but he was sure she'd be feeling the same soon. They turned off away from the main street, halted by a pile up of cars. The dashed parts of a civilian lay on the window screen, the poor person crushed to death by the three cars on top of them. "We could climb over it mayb-"

**BANG!**

A bullet screeched off the ground a few centimetres from Anya's foot, the pair ducking to a nearby building wall. "Don't shoot!" Anya shouted out as the gunman stepped down from the car heap. An incredibly bronzed colour man dropped to a crouch aiming his Mini SMG at the pair, his black combat gear tattered, his green undershirt smeared with blood. His eyes were light, filled with humour and youth; the gun he had pointed at them contradicted this cheery image. "We're human!" Gabe followed up with, the man breathing a sigh of relief as he lowered his gun. "Sorry folks," the man began; his voice a light South American accent, Brazilian perhaps? "You can never to be careful in this crazy town, good thing my aim was off then eh?" He threw Anya a cheeky wink, which she returned with veiled hostility as she gave him a tight smile. Gabe wondered why until he seen the emblem on the man's combat gear, a red and white parasol; an unmistakable insignia. "You're with Umbrella?" Gabe asked, keeping his voice cool as to not arouse suspicion. The man was seemingly unaware of the pair's suspicion, cheerily replying "Yeah, part of their private army. The name's Alejandro Lopez. You?"

Despite what Gabe suspected he kept it civil, replying "Gabe Hicks, Raccoon Press." For a few moments there was silence as Alejandro turned to Anya, a flirtatious smile spreading across his face as he waited for her answer. "Let's go" Anya growled to Gabe, pushing past the falling smile of the Umbrella grunt. She began to climb over the car barricade as Alejandro asked "What's her problem?" Gabe didn't really feel he should say, she probably wasn't too keen on being hit on by an Umbrella grunt. "Nothing, her name's Anya." The soldier was satisfied with the answer and shouted "So, Miss Anya, what are you-" Immediately Anya cut him off, replying sharply "We're finding weapons." Her blunt reply silenced the already dead city. Gabe simply shrugged and began climbing too, helping Anya get over the barricade.

The pair dropped down to a small narrow alleyway, bins overthrown with litter; bodies riddled with bullets, their stench sickening as the two hurried on past finding a set of stairs leadings up. Footsteps behind them. "Mind if I tag along?" came the sound of Alejandro's voice, unease bubbling in the pair. Could they really trust the Umbrella grunt? Then again could they really let a potential threat follow them from behind, ready to shoot them? "Not at all" Gabe replied before Anya could let rip. Much to their relief Alejandro took point, jogging up the stairs, holding his Mini SMG like a true pro. His aim flicked left, then right before he waved for the pair that it was safe. They were at the back entrance of Raccoon Mall, its shutters down as Gabe expected. "The gun shop should be nearby, let's try down there" Gabe said as he pointed over the wall, down another narrow alley. They descended another set of stairs, Alejandro taking point and Anya hanging back, her Bowgun pointed in the dark areas of the alley.

They were in the alleyway now, Gabe seen the neon light of the gun shop in the distance, a few meters down the alley. They made their way to the shop rapidly, surprised there was no danger. Alejandro pushed the door open, aiming left and right before letting the pair step in. Amazingly, the shop was practically untouched; apart from a few tell tale empty boxes the shop hadn't yet been looted for weapons. Gabe headed towards the handgun rack, leaving the other two to salvage what they wanted. Gabe pulled out a box and thanked his lucky stars; it was full of 9mm magazines. Gabe grabbed five clips, shoving them into his fanny pack. He ejected his empty clip from the Browning and slapped a new one in place feeling a lot more at ease. His eye was caught by a heavy weaponry rack behind the cashier desk; suddenly feeling he needed something more powerful than his handgun; once again the Subway Beast popping to mind. Gabe hopped over the desk and began looking through the weapons, stopping at a light grey weapon with a cold metal handling grip. "Shotgun..." he whispered as he hefted it down, taken aback by the weight. Gabe didn't fancy carrying about the Shotgun the whole time, so he took off his belt and fashioned a sling with it. Slinging it over his back he began looking for shotgun shells, but to his dismay couldn't find any.

He came back to Anya who was now standing tensely beside Alejandro. He could see she had now equipped two handguns, both Glocks Alejandro had said. She'd found a double pair of holsters and had them slid in beside her hips; Gabe wondered how she could carry such a massive amount of weight, but she didn't seem to be struggling. Alejandro showed them how to work their new found weapons and the trio headed out into the dark streets, feeling a bit more secure with their new found weaponry.


	10. Escalation

**Chapter 10.**

**September 28****th****, 1998**

September 28th, 7:00, Within the centre of the City

It had been several hours since Gabe and Anya had met up with Alejandro Lopez, the Umbrella soldier. The three of them were exhausted, and had managed to narrowly avoid trouble as they made their way through the city. They had their eyes opened, finding that not only where humans infected with the T-Virus, but also dogs, birds; any living thing in the city Anya presumed. They decided that to be fully ready for the long journey ahead of them they needed to all rest up and have a few hours sleep, that's when they decided to take refuge in a nearby office building. They had opted to take the stairs up to the higher levels, for fear of getting trapped in the elevator; if that were to happen they'd have no chance of getting rescued. Eventually reaching an office on the top floor they scanned the rooms and found that apart from a few blood smears on the walls there was no danger. Finding a vending machine Alejandro broke it open for them, all of them taking as much cold drinks and food as they could. Gabe had almost forgotten that it was almost a day since he had last eaten, his stomach growled to be fed. Hearing the rumble from Anya he presumed she was the same. They all decided to lock themselves in an office, sure that if something was coming to get them it would have to bang pretty loudly on the door to get in; by then they would be up and ready for whatever it was. By the time they all woke up it was 7 am, the past nights gore behind them. Anya and Alejandro headed for the vending machines once more, ready to have breakfast when Gabe heard a roar in the distance...

Gabe looked out the window, to his shock despite it being morning it was still relatively dark outside; the clouds in the sky dark. In the street he seen a man running, wearing a yellow jacket with khaki bottoms. "Police?" Gabe murmured as he seen a large, black clad beast dash after the man. He couldn't see what it was from the distance, but it was certainly no human. It roared once more "STAAAAAAAAAAAHS!" Gabe looked to his Shotgun, then back to the new behemoth outside. He felt shame as Anya asked "What's wrong" to which he replied "Nothing" and walked away from the window. Right now his morality would have to take a back seat; he wanted to get out of Raccoon City alive.

Despite Gabe's earlier unease at venturing into the centre of town it was noticeably bare of any undead; Alejandro detailing how most of the undead were rallied out of the centre following the Umbrella soldiers decent into town the day previous. The most carnage would be on Spooner Street, where both the U.B.C.S (as Alejandro had called them) and the R.P.D were slaughtered by wave after wave of flesh eating zombies. The story sent a shiver down Gabe's spine, suddenly feeling that his own chances of making it out of town where slim to nothing. If the police and a professionally trained army force were butchered so easily what chance did a sole grunt, a reporter and a college girl have against Umbrella's bio weapons? Regardless, he kept his fears to himself putting on a brave front as they made their way to a 'hot zone' as Alejandro had called it. "We have to keep going through" Gabe had insisted, keeping mum on why they had to. If he knew that they planned on escaping through an Umbrella facility what would he do, murder them? Lose them? Maybe he'd even set up an ambush leaving them to be eaten or worse while he got away high and dry. As expected Alejandro's interest was piqued as he asked with a hint of suspicion "Oh? Why, what could you possibly need to go through one of the most dangerous areas of the city for? I doubt it's a date with such a radiant beauty travelling in your company." Anya sighed, muttering "Again with the flirty bull shit?" Gabe replied to the Umbrella soldier, giving him as generic an answer as possible, "We're just trying to get out of town." He was satisfied with the answer given asking "Well is there any other way we can go through to get to wherever you want?" Gabe paused, once more going through his mind map. To the left lead to the Arklay Camping Site, a no go if there was anything in the woods. To his right was some sort of tourist attraction anyway...

"We could cut through the Aquarium?" For some reason that suggestion didn't feel safe, a thought creeping in from the back of his mind. Immediately he shot the thought down, declaring "The parking lot round back should get us round this hot zone." An inhuman, reptilian screech sounded off in the distance, somewhere in the hot zone. "Seems like a good idea to me" Anya quickly replied, the trio heading down the nearest street going towards the Raccoon Aquariam.


	11. Seperation at the Aquarium

**Chapter 10.**

**September 28****th****, 1998**

September 28th, 8:00, Raccoon Aquarium

"I don't like this" was all Anya said as the trio made their way into the Aquarium, kicking in the glass doors. The main entrance was eerily quiet, nothing there but a few smudges of bloody footprints leading off in every which direction. They scanned the dimly lit room halting in the middle. "Ok," Alejandro began, "What now?" The Aquarium seemed to be deserted, and there was only the one set of footprints, albeit the set did make their way in every direction. Gabe dared not jinx them but it appeared as though they had found the safest place in the city. "I think we should split up and find the back entrance to this place." Anya didn't approve, her lips becoming a tight line; Alejandro said nothing. "Let's face it, from the looks of things this place is pretty safe" he continued. "That's where you're wrong." The three jumped on the spot, aiming towards the desk in the middle of the room. A woman pulled herself up from behind the desk, her smudged and dirty face dark and unreadable. "There are worse things than those zombies you know." She had a charming British accent and was walking over to them now, wearing nothing but a leather cat suit, brown holsters and gear adorned across her body. Her clothing had no insignia, nothing to let them know where she stood. Regardless, Gabe felt she wasn't a bad guy; and by the look Anya gave her he thought she felt the same too.

Alejandro was the first to speak up, his thick accented voice asking "And how do you know lady? Don't come any closer until you tell us who the hell you are?" Gabe didn't understand Alejandro's aggression; she was clearly not a threat. She wasn't even armed. The woman stopped, before reaching back into her brown fanny pack and pulled out what looked like a wallet. "Jeanette Quinn, U.U.R.S." She threw her I.D across the floor, Anya picking it up before saying "She's telling the truth." Anya stood looking at her thoughtfully before asking "What does U.U.R.S stand for anyway?" Before Jeanette had a chance to speak Alejandro answered, his voice bitter as he said "Umbrellas Undercover Reconnaissance Squad. She's a spy."

The word hung on the air as Alejandro whispered "I bet they gave you all the information you needed before you came into the city, didn't they? So while my own squad was left to get butchered yours was no doubt happy in the knowledge you would know what you were dealing with, hell you were probably not even dropped off in the hot zone; where you?" It seemed even Umbrella had its own issues when it came to the military. Gabe couldn't just sit back and let these two have at it, they all needed to get out of the town; and fast! "Jeanette," Gabe began "What else is there out there?" She turned away from Alejandro stiffly before addressing Gabe, "The T-Virus has leaked into the water supply of the Aquarium, whatever didn't die from an overdose of the virus has no doubt become a mutant. I haven't seen anything yet personally, but Intel states large marine life should be avoided at all costs. There is also another thing, something I have seen..." She paused, no doubt wondering if she should be telling these three the information. "An Umbrella B.O.W that was being taken care of by the Aquarium, due to its amphibious nature has escaped from its holding area." Jeanette said nothing else, Gabe suddenly cursed his big mouth earlier. If the Aquarium's marine life had become infected...

An infected Free Willy didn't sound to appealing to Gabe.

"Do you know the way out of here, Jeanette?" Anya's voice was quiet; no doubt what the spy had said had frightened her. Before she could answer however an unholy screech echoed about the hall. "Oh bugger, it's one of the B.O.W's!" The top floor was pitch black, and the screech seemed to be moving all about them. Instinctively Gabe pulled Anya closer to him, his Browning out and aiming everywhere. Alejandro and Jeanette stood side by side, Gabe seen she whispered something to him. Alejandro started firing just as the thing plummeted down to them in a blur of green and shining claw. "Run!" Anya screamed as the small frog like creature made a running jump, ready to take their heads off. Gabe grabbed Anya's hand and ran off to the right corridor, spying the door ahead of them "Please have locks, please have locks..." he muttered as himself and the young girl crashed through the door.

They were in the gift shop, it appeared. Without thinking Gabe pushed the nearest shelf of goods down in front of the door, his eyes scanning for a way out.

Alejandro had followed Jeanette, hoping that Gabe and Anya had gone the same way. They sped down the corridor on the left, greeted by a ticket office. Jeanette had the door open long before Alejandro had made it. They both entered, their professional eyes scanning the room for danger; none. The woman dead locked the door, looking out the ticket window before she whispered "My God, more escaped..." Alejandro hurried to her side, nearly emptying his bowels as he seen four of the reptilian creatures creep down the corridor slowly, their breathing low and rasping. In the distance he seen at least another three running down the corridor to the right, and he knew that was where Anya and Gabe had went. "Good luck" he whispered before Jeanette shook him back to the there and then. "We have to get out of here" she barked as she began kicking in the vent closest to them.


	12. The Subway Creature Returns

**Chapter 11.**

**September 28****th****, 1998**

September 28th, 8:15, Raccoon Aquarium

Luckily for Gabe and Anya there was a backdoor to the gift shop, one that lead directly into the heart of the aquarium. The amphibious creatures, the **_Hunters_** of the survivors were screeching just outside the door; not doing anything to try break in but not wandering off either. 'Maybe they've already had lunch?' he thought dryly as he darted out into the following room, noting no danger. He beckoned for Anya to follow and she entered the room with the same weariness as Gabe; they knew they should never let their guard down. Besides, from what Jeanette; the Umbrella Spy had to say there were a lot more things to worry about in the Aquarium than a few rotting corpses. The clawed frogs baying outside the gift shop door were proof of that.

They were on a wooden walkway, the sound of water lapping up the sides of the decorative rocks sending a tingle up Anya's spine. Who knew what lurked beneath; likely something festering and dead and keen to eat her inside out? "Lovely" she muttered as she quickened her pace to match up with Gabe, her heightened sense of unease anticipating the attack before it even happened. She pushed and rolled with Gabe forward, looking back to see the hulking frame of a familiar enemy arise from beneath the wet boardwalk. It was the Subway Creature, and clearly it wasn't done with the two yet; "That thing again!" Gabe exclaimed as he raised one handgun, popping rounds off into the creature's lithe murderous frame. Alana was on her feet already, drawing her two Glocks as the beast took one step forward. She fired away at its legs, the thing howling in pain as its knees were reduced to nothing more than bloody stumps. It slumped into the decorative rock; its body angled in such a way as though it looked like it were still standing. Gabe dusted himself off quietly asking "Did we kill it?" The beast's eyes shot open, venomous hate oozing from its unflinching stare. From out of the things back abdomen grew small spikes; punching their way through the pale skin of the creature. "Run!" Anya screamed as the thing flopped to the floor, its backend aimed at them.

They only just managed to round the next corner when needle thin spikes shot through the air, right where they were previously standing.

Nearby a sign caught Gabe's focus, detailing information on something called a _Sea Urchin_. It was then that, an idea caught in his head. Was this thing somehow mimicking beasts it came across? More importantly, where did it come from and who would make something that could do such a thing? He shoved those questions to the back of his skull as himself and Anya rapidly made their way down the walkway, stopping as they spied three doorways ahead of them. To the left seemed to be a fairly normal room, and free from water. The middle room seemed to create a huge distance between the two doorways on either side, and the gentle sound of lapping waves emanated from out of there. The third door was closed, but Gabe could see that it was a security office. He paused momentarily before making his choice...

_And now it's up to you, the readers to decide what course of action Gabe and Anya will do! Which room will they enter? Only you will decide :)_


End file.
